Undoubtedly, this year in China's new energy vehicle market, BYD has been the dominant force. The various brands under BYD have demonstrated strong performance in segmented markets, with monthly sales exceeding 500.000 units—surpassing the total annual sales of many automakers' new energy vehicles. It's safe to say that BYD is forging ahead in the new energy vehicle sector. However, there are two relatively specific issues: first, BYD’s sales in the mid-to-high-end pure electric vehicle segment still have room for growth; second, BYD’s high-level autonomous driving technology is still in the early stages.
These two issues may undergo significant improvement next year. Currently, BYD’s presence in the domestic mid-to-high-end pure electric vehicle market is not particularly strong, primarily due to charging infrastructure and high-level autonomous driving capabilities. Regarding charging, while BYD laid out its 800V high-voltage platform early on, it lacks its own supercharging network. As a result, the charging efficiency remains at the level users typically experience, and BYD's pure electric vehicles don’t yet offer particularly strong data to support promotion. Additionally, high-end model buyers are particularly concerned with autonomous driving capabilities. However, compared to brands like NIO, Li Auto, and Xiaomi, BYD's reputation in this area still falls short.
Starting from the end of this year, BYD has launched two new trends, and next year, these two major strategies will be in full force. The first is the 1000V high-voltage platform. We have verified through multiple sources that BYD is highly likely to launch the 1000V high-voltage platform next year. Compared to the current 800V high-voltage platform and fast-charging technology, the 1000V platform is simpler and more powerful. In simple terms, it offers a larger charging channel, improving charging efficiency and significantly reducing charging time. This is very important because, with this upgrade, BYD's pure electric vehicles will be able to fully support 240kW and even higher power third-party charging stations, which will be very attractive to potential BYD electric vehicle owners.
The second focus is autonomous driving. Although BYD has been working on intelligent driving assistance systems for some time, what we've seen is that BYD's driving assistance features are mostly widespread and basic, such as the L2-level driving assistance system available across many models, most of which work quite well. However, when it comes to advanced autonomous driving, BYD has yet to make a significant breakthrough. For example, the intelligent driving system in the BYD Tang and other models, when compared to those from brands like Huawei or Li Auto, still falls short in terms of performance.
Now, however, the situation has changed. In the newly launched BYD Fangcheng Bao8. Huawei’s Qian Kun intelligent driving system has been fully integrated. On the Bao8. Huawei’s advanced driving system operates without any major compromises, offering features like Highway NOA (Navigation on Autopilot), City NOA, and full-range active safety. This collaboration with Huawei will significantly enhance BYD’s capabilities in high-level autonomous driving, addressing the issue of BYD's underperformance in this area.
Of course, BYD has not entirely left the development of advanced autonomous driving to Huawei, as there are known risks with Huawei's technology and other aspects of their control. In addition to working with Huawei, BYD is also pushing forward with its own autonomous driving research and development. Recently, Liu Yi, the former head of parking regulation and control at Xpeng Motors, joined BYD to oversee the company's self-developed intelligent driving regulation, with a high level of responsibility and authority. Moreover, BYD is intensifying its efforts in the field of high-level autonomous driving. It can be said that with both in-house development and external cooperation, BYD is likely to unveil significant advancements in autonomous driving next year.
If the core of BYD's work this year has been to achieve comprehensive leadership in the plug-in hybrid sector through its fifth-generation DM technology, driving substantial growth in both incremental and stock sales, then next year, BYD will likely focus on pure electric vehicles and advanced autonomous driving. With BYD’s technical expertise and research and development capabilities, it is fully capable of achieving these goals. Therefore, a big possibility is that next year, BYD will be competing with many new energy vehicle startups for dominance in the mid-to-high-end market segment.
